The process of constructing a poured concrete wall has conventionally required concrete forms to be created on site, wherein the concrete forms consist of wood, metal, or wood/metal panels erected and maintained in spaced, parallel relationship with other panels. Fluid concrete is then poured within the concrete forms, which are removed after the concrete has set (i.e. solidified). Problems associated with this process include higher labor costs, lack of uniformity, and expense associated with the removal and disposal of the panels. Various wall forming systems have been developed to overcome the problems found with this process.
One such development has been the use of prefabricated insulated concrete forms (“ICFs”) comprising foam plastic panels wherein the forms become part of the poured concrete wall structure. Problems associated with this system have arisen due to the outside panels being made of a foam plastic, which include penetrability of the foam plastic, insect and water barrier difficulties, and the stigma of previous exterior foam plastic application failures.
Another development has been a wall form structure such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,183 to Kim, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Kim avoids many of the problems found in prior art systems; however, Kim teaches an outer wall separate from the solidified concrete, which requires an exterior layer to be subsequently applied over the outer wall to protect the outer wall as well as to provide a decorative exterior surface.
Accordingly, what is needed, and is not found in the prior art, is a wall forming system utilizing a flowable construction material to construct walls wherein the exterior panels of the wall forming assembly become incorporated within the construction material after it has solidified.